Man meet man watch. This isn't a piece your girlfriend or wife can snatch from you and strap on themselves. No sir. This watch is about as masculine as it gets - and whether or not you like how it looks it will be hard to disagree with that conclusion. From Montrek this is the Square Diver PVD watch. Which also implies there is a non PVD black version. Sort of like a Bell & Ross BR01 meets actual warriors as opposed to weekend ones.

Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic movement with a subsidiary seconds dial. I have seen propeller subsidiary seconds dial hands before - but this one done like a ship propeller is really cool. Strap is rubber, and I understand that there might be some gold versions, as well as those with PVD black steel (versus the polished model as seen here). As a fan of all things steampunk (aside from the outfits), I look forward to trying this piece on. The Romain Jerome Steampunk watch will be limited to just 2,012 pieces with a price of 12,500 Swiss Francs.

I couldn't help but write about this. You might already know about these, which means you think they are as cool as I do. Nike has decided to build a limited edition set of the Nike MAG shoes from Back to the Future Part II as part of their "It's About Time" collection. These shoes have until now only existed as movie props. People have been begging Nike to actually make them for years - and here they are. There will be 1,500 pairs made - every single one will be auctioned off on eBay from now until September 18th, 2011.

For this new standard collection of 2011 ROO watches, AP offers an exhibition caseback through the sapphire crystal. There you can see the new Audemars Piguet calibre 3126/3840 automatic movement that has 60 hours of power reserve. It is based on the older calibre 3120 - but is better looking to be in line with today's more sophisticated movement designs that AP has been releasing. The movements are all hand decorated in Le Brassus and have 22k gold rotors that have been given a dark galvanic treatment.

How about Lot #19? A Breitling Genève "Top Time." (see hi-def pic) I’m a sucker for vintage retro models like this. 1970s funk? Check. Cushion case? Check. Baton hands? Check. Oval registers? Check. This lot is estimated at 1,300 USD - 1,700 USD, which seems amazingly low to me. Unless the pre-auction inspections determine the inside to be filled with rusty dust, I expect this Breitling to go for quite a bit more than that. I think new Navitimers list at several times that range. Collectors of 70s-era chronos should love this one!

Looking down at the watch you can see the movement gears and tourbillon moving all the time. Really a good piece for gear-heads. The movement is manually wound with a power reserve of 120 hours (pretty good). It also has a slick constant force system needed for changing the drums around without losing amplitude. I really love the look of the movement - which you can thankfully see though the various sapphire crystal windows.

2010 saw the watch industry as a whole finally step into the Internet's living room. Watch brands are finally realizing how important the Internet is from marketing and sales standpoint - and then they totally lost track of reality. Expectations from social media was utterly unrealistic, with brands thinking Facebook and Twitter is some magic way of getting new customers. Time to sober up and get real. Social media is for sharing information and offering a communication access point. Not some news ticker feed that people are going to sit there and watch. The worst offenders are those who "cry wolf" with their fans and followers offering weeks and weeks of pointless crap before anything interesting is actually communicated (if ever). Stop using social media as some self-generated yearbook and figure it out.

The following timepiece analysis post is by Chris Meisenzahl. He is a long-time watch enthusiast and daily Speedmaster Pro wearer. He blogs at The Pretense of Knowledge and can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/speedmaster.

Starting a new watch brand these days is a tricky endeavor. No one I've spoken to in the last few years who was part of starting a new line of timepieces mentioned money being their primary motive. That isn't to suggest that these aren't profit ventures, but rather that it takes a certain sense of drive and artistic desire to do what is necessary to bring a watch brand to life. John Isaac is just such a brand. It popped up recently with some interesting ideas and eye-catching designs. My favorite part is seeing how new ideas and new people add life to my favorite world.

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Put yourself into the mindset of the person leading the effort. Your firm has literally centuries of proud history behind it; you're not just going to bang out a 'me-too' design. You're going to strive to integrate your firm's themes and strengths into an entirely new design.

Holy crap that is a lot. Would you have ever guessed that the watch is also a grand sonnerie? Loiseau says that it can only produce two 1f4 watches per year. Price for it will be at least a million dollars (likely a lot more), and I was so surprised to just randomly see it as the brand does not really market themselves. Dominique is clearly an only school type. Not a business guy at heart, he is a prideful watch maker who is keen to assert himself in his craft. As far as I know, now during the last part of his life, is the first time he has done something like this on his own. His design sensibility might be a bit in the past, but a lot of people appreciate that. What is important is what he has been able to do technically. The 1f4 for example is chess-themed. You only get a hint of this when looking at the chess-board style clasp on the strap. This watch is in part an homage to the complexity of chess, and connecting the cause-and-effect decision making of the game with a watch movement. Truly a special watch, I thank Mr. Loiseau and his associates for showing it to me and look forward to seeing the final 1f4 piece.

The Harbormaster is their first watch, available in three models: Genoa, Spinnaker and Gennaker. Different colors, bands and dials, with all sharing the other details. In common are the 44mm, stainless steel case, sapphire crystal, lumed bezel, lightning seconds hand, 200m water resistance, screwdown crown and bezel. The more expensive Genoa model adds applied hour markers, silver embossed dial and ETA 2824 movement; the movements in the others are Shanghai (SMC) 2824 clones.

As an art watch the X-Ray is attractive and unique looking. Depending on your mood and how you look at it, the watch goes from being beautiful to 'watch nerdy.' It also makes me happy that Itay Noy chose not to use a traditional round case. Rather, it bulges where case screws are used to keep the sandwiched sections together. While a bit odd at first the case proves nice to look at and wear. The steel case is 41.6mm wide but feels larger thanks to the thin bezel. Detailing and finish on the case is good. One issue however is the crown. On the piece I tested it was rough to turn, and the crown design is a bit sharp making it uncomfortable to wind given the roughness I mentioned. If other pieces offer smoother winding then there is no issue.

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28,800 semi-vibrations per hour, fine timing device and

The dials started with Bedat's really nice hands. For good luck, the number 8 was place at o'clock in contrast to the other applied baton hour markers. Each model has a deeply textured dial with a sunburst motif. The dials came in three colors, being black, silver, and slate. For the life of me I can't find the size of the case. I've seen them, and I think they are about 40mm wide, but I can't find the measurement online.